newt gingrich i clinton. once the government shut down, the pressure on both sides was so intense there was a deal in less than three weeks. the pressure, if we go into january, will be far greater than it was then because the economic consequences and the market consequences are more significant. i think it's inconceivable that if we go into january, there won't be a settlement in january, early february at the latest. we hit the debt ceiling in february anyway. there has to be a settlement. somebody has to blink, probably both sides blink to some degree. i've talked a little bit to people in financial markets in new york about how they think the markets would react to all of this. the reaction i've got is there's a lot of nervousness, a lot of volatility in the markets in january. if there is a deal in a few weeks, and any deal clearly makes retroactive to january 1st, the tax cuts continued, and we'll remove sequesteration, then what i'm told is in the interim the damage really won't be that significant. n